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Sunday Best: Tammy - SALT - Miniature Tigers - INDIIA

Background promo - Friday just gone and indie twosome Tammy release their latest single, "Away For The Weekend". Of the track, the band says, "'Away' is one of the first songs we ever played together. When we would play it at shows we'd always say we were playing our future hit single... In the Tammy repertoire, we break most of our songs down into the categories of love songs, hate songs, and songs about making out.. this one, written before we conceived of those designations, doesn't fit so neatly into any one of them. The subject is in love but it's a hopeless kind of love, and in the end we dont get the feeling that it's come to fruition."

Members Aaron and Brooke, who met for the first time at a New York bar called Ioana, possess the kind of undeniable chemistry that brings to mind some of the most beloved American folk duos, like Simon & Garfunkel and Dylan and Baez. Aaron’s bouncy acoustic riffs provide the perfect backdrop for Brooke’s sweet yet sultry, honey-soaked vocals, giving Tammy its truly original and unforgettable sound.

Influenced by everyone from Burt Bacharach to Nirvana, both Aaron and Brooke began developing their musicality at the age of four. Now, asTammy, they draw inspiration from their experiences as New Yorkers. And as Brooke puts it, “We can’t wait to keep singing and writing songs about love, hate and making out.” Website here.

I featured Tammy back in early July and their new song 'Away For The Weekend' really is deserving of a share. This is a slower piece, however the hallmarks of fine vocals, melody and just right music, is all there.

Background - SALT’s intoxicating blend of high-energy, narrative-driven rock’n’roll began to take shape in the summer of 2014 as the five-piece came together to “drink milk and play music”. Milk swiftly drunk, the band turned their attention to the music, forging an exhilarating take on alternative rock, melding elements of Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket, The Killers and Pearl Jam into a standalone, stadium-ready sound. The youthful outfit’s rapid ascent belies their short lifespan, as they’ve accumulated an avid fan-base to pack out sweaty gigs in their home town of High Wycombe and beyond, as well as having recorded live sessions for BBC radio, enjoyed prime billing at a number of summer festivals and even cut tracks at Abbey Road Studios after emerging triumphant from an online competition. “If The Beatles were bigger than Jesus, then we might just about be on a par with Ant-Man,” says singer Frankie with tongue-in-cheek modesty. SALT may be temporarily under-the-radar but it won’t be that way for long — like the miniature Marvel hero, they pack an almighty punch. SALT are: Frankie Lord, vocals; Jack Reynolds, guitar and backing vocals; Ryan Morritt, guitar and backing vocals; Sam Brookland, bass; Dean Ward, drums.

Directed by Peter Roe with Jesse Llande as director of photography, the striking, stylish video to SALT’s ‘Don’t Look At Me That Way’ frames the band in smoky, atmospheric monochrome, before surreal visual cutaways pair with flashes of colour that soon submerge proceedings in something of a neon storm. It’s a powerful presentation in-keeping with the tenor of the song, a ballad of longing for a distant partner who’s far away from home. Pealing guitar gives way to a crunchy, skittering grunge progression and a rollin’ and tumblin’ rhythm that underpins singer Frankie Lord’s stirring verses and anthemic, arms-aloft chorus, which he emphatically guides to its lung-busting climax. “The song is about a dream,” says Frankie, “where you wake but the dream was so vivid you can't help but attach real emotion to it.” There’s real emotion to ‘Don’t Look At Me That Way’ all right, conveyed here in masterful sound and vision.

The video may be stylish and a little intriguing, however it's the song that really gets me. 'Don't Look at Me That Way' is a really fine rock song. Maybe indie or alt rock, who cares, the musicianship is superb no nonsense rock'n'roll and the vocals are just right for this type of song. I look forward to hearing more!

Background - "Persistence is the key ingredient when it comes to the story of Miniature Tigers. Originally started as a bedroom project by front-man Charlie Brand in Phoenix, Arizona in 2006, the band has since released 4 studio albums, toured the planet and cultivated a cult base of die hard fans through their constant output of brilliantly written records. Early albums such as Tell It To the Volcano and Fortress garnered them critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR and Stereogum while later albums such as Mia Pharaoh and Cruel Runnings (recorded in Jamaica) sent them on more futuristic indie-pop realms, garnering support from Neon Gold and festival appearances at Lollapalooza, ACL, Fun Fun Fun, and international touring with multi-platinum act Fun.

Like many bands after nearly a decade of hard work and moderate success, Charlie Brand started considering his future. He started an exciting buzz-worthy project with close friend Jeremy Malvin (Chrome Sparks) called Promises Ltd. , wrote and produced for other artists such as rapper Skizzy Mars and after a long relationship came to and end, naturally he turned to what he always turned to….and the output took shape in what eventually would become Miniature Tigers 5th LP.

“I Dreamt I Was a Cowboy was written after the end of a long relationship. I wanted to leave those recordings intentionally raw to maintain the feeling of that time. I wanted it to feel clear and immediate.” As the “demos” came together, it became evident that the recordings were actually album cuts. “I spent a few months couch surfing with friends in Texas and New York before eventually moving to Los Angeles. Many of the songs on the record were written and recorded while I was living on someone’s air mattress. This album felt so specifically personal that when it came time to finish I decided to not re-record anything in a studio and to just mix and master it myself. ”

The end result is a 5th album jam packed with the excitement and energy of a debut album…but with the mastery that can only come from a seasoned writer like Brand, where the lessons learned and scars bourn from a life dedicated to music are not in this case in vain but celebrated in the mastery of expression in it’s truest form.

'Crying In The Sunshine' is from the forthcoming album, "I Dreamt I Was A Cowboy" due 28 October. It's a smooth alt rock song with the quality and production you would expect from a band with their experience. Vocals and music are refined and energised in what is a hook laden piece.

Background from Indiia - We are INDIIA a new act from Stockholm Sweden and we just dropped our debut single “Sunny Day”. Would be humbled if you wanted to post the tune on Beehive Candy.

It's useful (to say the least) if bands/artist or their agents at least forward some background details and information, however the above is all I received from INDIIA and in fairness I quite like 'Sunny Day' so why not just feature it and be done! -- It's a lively indie pop song, see, I can be minimalist to!